The Melody Within
by Dencin
Summary: Rigoletto AU. Abrasive and reclusive Kristoff Bjorgman has moved into the abandoned mansion on the hill, and soon after people are starting to lose their homes and the townsfolk suspect him. Anna has dreams of becoming a singer, but when her sister falls ill, she starts working for Kristoff to pay for her sister's treatments, and winds up getting singing lessons along the way.


The town of Arendelle was just like any other small town in the middle of the United States. But yet, with the Great Depression at its peak, many people found their houses foreclosed on. Many founding families no longer lived in the city, but a few struggled to keep their roots. Of those families, there were only two left who had first settled the land; the Arens and Westergards.

* * *

A soft voice floated through the night air in Arendelle.

" _I love the part in fairy tales, that's very near the end…  
When all the kingdom cheers for their new Queen…  
And all is well, and all is good, and everyone belongs…  
And happily they're ever-aftering…_

 _But when I enter the Kingdom of Dreams…  
And face the promise of all I can be…  
Will they see me as a heroine?  
Tell me will they let me in…  
Won't someone let me in…_"

* * *

The voice trailed off as a pair of ocean blue eyes stared out the window, into the night beyond. The girl had been so wrapped up in her song, she didn't notice that her sister had entered the room.

"That was beautiful, Anna." She said, looking to her younger sister at the window.

A smile formed on the girl's lips as she looked over to her sister. Anna had always been jealous of her sister. Elsa was the beautiful and smart one. While Anna considered herself the spare sister. Yet that didn't make her love her sister any less.

The redhead blushed as she realized she'd been overheard, her gaze falling to the floor.

"I'm sorry, was I being too loud?" She asked softly.

"I wish you would sing more often, you have a beautiful voice." Elsa said with a smile, moving further into the bedroom.

After her blush faded, Anna took a look at her sister and suddenly realized that she carried a book in her. She practically tackled the other in her attempt to grab the book. The elder sister laughed and held the book just out of her reach.

"Happy birthday, Anna." She said finally releasing the book to her sister.

Anna squealed and hopped around the room before finally settling down cross legged on the bed. Elsa joined her soon after she settled down.

"R-Rig-Rigo...letto? Would you read it to me?" Anna asked sheepishly.

"Of course, hand it over."

Anna did just that and flopped down on her stomach, looking up at her sister as she began to read.

* * *

" _Once upon a time in a land far away, so far away that you'd never know it existed, there lived an Elven prince. To his people, he was called Rigoletto. He was a master of song, and he used the art of music to heal his people. And they lived in peace and prosperity, unknown to the World of Men._

 _Cold winds blew the Elves ill-will and Mortal Men came to destroy the Elven Kingdom. Rigoletto would not yet know happiness. For he was struck in battle by a cursed sword that left half of his face pale, death-like, and hideous to behold._

 _In his pride, Rigoletto allowed the ugliness of his face to poison his heart making it ugly as well. And none could heal him._

 _So Rigoletto left his Kingdom and entered the World of Men. Accompanied only by his mother and faithful servant. Never to return until he found one from the World of Men whose pure heart, and love, would break the spell…_ "

* * *

Elsa stopped reading, noting that her sister had already fallen asleep. She smiled and closed the book before covering her sister up with her blanket. Anna shifted and smiled, opening her eyes to give her sister a sleepy look.

"I wish I could sing like the Prince. Then you wouldn't have to work so hard." She mumbled before falling asleep again.

"I know." Elsa said, brushing her sister's hair from her face before settling down into her own bed for the night.

After their parents died in a car crash, Elsa had assumed responsibility of taking care of her sister. Sadly, Elsa suffered from seizures that left her unable to walk, sometimes for days on end. Without her working her medical bills continued to pile high. They were being threatened with foreclosure to pay off her debts. But yet, finding and maintaining work during the Great Depression was no easy task. Especially for a woman.

'Perhaps Anna will win the singing competition tomorrow.' She thought to herself as sleep finally came. Anna would be safe and on the track to a scholarship to become a singer. She didn't want Anna's life to be like hers, she wanted her sister to be the shining star.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the dead of night someone had moved into the abandoned mansion on the hill of Arendelle.


End file.
